New Delhi, April 10 -- The Goa Crime Branch has busted a large-scale illicit IPL betting ring, arresting 34 people and recovering gambling-related material worth almost Rs 40 lakh.
The racket was uncovered following a complaint by Police Inspectors Prashal Desai and Laxi Amonkar, resulting in the filing of two cases under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023, the GDD Public Gambling Act, and Section 66D of the Information Technology Act, the officials informed on Thursday.
The accused operated out of two establishments in Panaji. Acting upon reliable inputs, the police searched both these spots and found a well-structured bookmaking syndicate operating with renowned betting applications, including Reddy, Lotus, and Lionking 247.BET. The group reportedly caused members of the public to deposit money into different bank accounts run under fictitious names, thus masterminding a huge cheating and cyber fraud conspiracy.
During the raid, it was discovered that the accused had leased whole buildings to carry out their illegal activities. They were not just betting on IPL matches but had also indulged in betting on other prominent sports events such as the ICC Champions Trophy.
Several of the accused were functioning as customer support agents, rendering both pay-in and pay-out services to bookies and punters all over the country. The investigations further disclosed that the accused were members of a wider national and global network of gambling agents. the official said.
Police seized dozens of mobile phones, laptops, desktops, routers, Indian passports, SIM cards, bank passbooks, checkbooks, and ATM cards.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.